THE ALTER G TREADMILL

Fancy running with 30% less bodyweight? How about 60%, or 75%???

It's gotta be like flying like the wind, no?

Well, I'll let you know at some point next week, as I've signed up for a Balance Performance Physiotherapy World Record Club where some of my former collegues are trying to see who can beat the world record for the mile that is testing the new generation treadmill called the G-trainer. In the video Raphael is giving us a short burst of speed on one of only seven G-trainers there are in Europe

On this device you run on a treadmill, but sealed from the waist down in a kind of air-tight pod. The G-Trainer changes the air pressure inside the skirt so you effectively run with almost zero impact -- or, in effect, with less bodyweight. It's a bit like the effect you get running in a pool.

Quite apart from its obvious benefits if you are rehabing from injury, a number of professional athletes like West Ham United Footballer, Keiron Dyer was using it to be able to add mileage and or quality work without the risk of injury from increased impact. The G-Trainer website includes this quote from Alberto Salazar (Director of the Nike Oregon Project and former marathon world record holder): "By reducing my athletes’ effective body weight using the G-Trainer, they have increased their training volume by up to 25%, without increased risk of injury. This has enabled our runners to compete at their highest level ever."